Among Zurich's Belle Époque landmarks, few carry the civic weight of the 1909 palace that rises directly from the Limmat at Utoquai — a cream stone facade punctuated by wrought-iron balconies, blue-and-white awnings, and a mansard dome that anchors the lakefront with the confidence of a building that knows exactly what it is. La Réserve Eden au Lac Zürich, which joined the La Réserve group in 2018, hired Jacques Garcia to transform what had become a faded grande dame into something more precise and more considered — a hotel whose interiors acknowledge the Beaux-Arts envelope without being imprisoned by it. Garcia's response moves between registers with controlled assurance. The bar layers stacked birch logs against warm timber panelling and a veined marble artwork, the brick back-bar glowing amber against an extensive spirit collection — an atmosphere closer to an alpine hunting lodge than a fin-de-siècle salon. The restaurant softens that register further, wrapping cognac-leather banquettes in tartan throws, rattan chairs, and linen-shaded table lamps that produce a light more residential than institutional. Upstairs, the guest rooms reveal the building's idiosyncratic geometry most clearly: arched ceiling niches, steeply angled dormer walls, and warm walnut or reddish-brown timber panelling fitted around the mansard's original structure. Bouclé chaises, ceramic garden stools, and Eileen Gray–adjacent lounge chairs complete rooms that feel genuinely inhabited rather than assembled to a brief.

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Unique and elegant, the legendary hotel is reborn, after several months of an ambitious undertaking nurtured by the creativity of Philippe Starck and La Réserve’s vision of excellence. La Réserve Eden au Lac Zurich is a majestic building standing proud, serene, solid and calm like the wonderful days that have passed since it first opened on the lakeshore 100 years ago. Times are changing and Philippe Starck has come along with a subtly artistic and rebellious touch. He has in fact deconstructed Eden au Lac to better rebuild it for tomorrow, even closer to its true nature. From the 40 rooms and suites, to the restaurant and the bar, everything has been redesigned to offer guests a refined and timeless experience, true to La Réserve’s values of excellence, authenticity and simplicity.